Friday Finish!

It was a slow week with the flu, mostly watching tv, resting, cleaning and working on my projects. I had to redo the background for my snowmen, better than before but not what I wanted. At this point, I am not redoing it again, so I will fix a few things on the main design and leave it as is.

I do enjoy stitching when I am sick, easy to do and few supplies to gather. I made up some more lavender sachets with a design by Theodore Cleave. She used to offer a lot of nice free designs, but she still sells some nice ones. They are great as gifts and I still have a batch of finished stitcheries, for a quilt or I may make pillows as gifts, since the saying are so nice.

I loved making this one, and fun to color in. I tried some buttons on one and glitter floss in the middle of the other flowers. I also used glitter thread for their wings. I usually get lavender from a local shop, but since I am stuck at home, I decided to order some online. I was surprised at how fragrant it was, much better than what I have gotten. I think 2 pounds will make plenty of sachets to place around the house and some in the new trailer.

Last weekend we were able to see eagles at both ponds. The problem was, my camera was acting up and wouldn't focus, so I think I am pressing the button on the side by accident, so I have to watch my settings when I shoot. Most of the photos came out blurry from the first spot, so hopefully I can get better ones, the next time. He flew close a few times and then he flew off with a hawk, following behind.

I also enjoy watching the birds in my backyard. It is the time of year when large flocks gather in the area. There is a flock of robins and a lot of different blackbirds, they fill the trees around me.

And one day I noticed that one of the squirrel's nests had gotten twice the size. I looked with my binoculars to see what it looked like and this is what I saw. A squatter took it for a safe place to sleep, but he did leave the next day. I rarely see raccoons, but I think he was startled by something or at night and wanted somewhere safe, to catch up on some sleep.

We haven't been glass hunting lately, it is way to cold and breezy at the beach. We decided to go for a quick look and grabbed what we saw as we walked down the beach and this is what I found.

And I decided that I needed to make early reservations if I wanted to get a spot at Wolfe's Neck in Maine. It is a working farm on the ocean, so we can relax, bike ride and paddle, and lots of places to visit in the area. We stayed there fifteen years ago and even though I can't paddle the long distances, it will be fun to paddle in the coves.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finishes!

This week I got the flu, first real flu in years. I get a lot of them, but usually I can keep going, this one has me worn out, so I am resting more than usual. Though for me, that means, laundry, cooking dinner, dishes, and I still have to vacuum, lol. With a nice weekend coming up, I really want to get out and get some eagle shots and spend a day with the boys, so hopefully the meds will kick in by tomorrow.

I cannot stand sitting and doing nothing, so I made up a few easy projects for the week. I did work on my punch needle, but I still have more to go and not sure if I am happy with the background color, so thinking on that.

Michelle Palmer offered a free design on her Facebook page. The punched piece I am working on, is also one of her designs. This one can be done in any medium, but I decided to do a stitchery. I had fun coloring it in and doing a little shading, to make it a bit more artsy, which her originals are like.

The next piece I had gotten on one of our trips to Connecticut. They have a wonderful quilt store, but not a lot of patterns, but they do carry a few from my favorite designers. This one is by Bonnie Sullivan of All Through the Night. It is part of a set, for a full sized dog quilt. This one was perfect by itself, to make into a pillow.

The pillow measures 13" x 9". A nice size to sit on my chest, with my bunny pillows.

Last weekend we lucked out and found an eagle, at a pond in RI. This guy was across the lake, but still fun to see him. I also found out where the photographers are getting shots of a pair, that are closer to shore, so I am hoping to get up there, tomorrow.

We also stopped at a few places and found a new bike path. Hopefully I can find a doctor who actually treats patients and get back my strength, I really want to do more biking this year. A lot of the bike paths in Connecticut are old railroad lines, so they cross over trestle bridges.

   

And we ordered a new trailer. I was disappointed with the small class C. It had everything we needed, a real bedroom with storage, a decent kitchen, but the only seats were the table and it was hard and stiff, so not great for comfort. It would be great for day trips and weekends, but way too tight for longer stays, I need my space, lol.

So, we went with a larger trailer. It was cheaper and we got a lot more for the price. It doesn't have much more sleeping space, but enough to take the boys with us and the back chairs move, so we can always set up a blow up bed for my son and DIL. The boys are small enough to sleep on the table bed. It will be more for us, something I can relax in, something I can cook in and I don't have to put my clothes in the bathtub, lol.

Here is a little peak of the one we looked at. This is the one we wanted, but of course, someone came in and bought it, the day before. so we have to wait a few months, since ours is from the factory, but will be an even newer model.

Have a wonderful weekend and hopefully your weather will be as nice as ours.

Friday Finishes!

This week I was lazy and I am also working on a larger project, so I made up some lavender pillows to work on, while I watched tv. The designs came from my booklets and I had fun doing some of my old ones.

This one is from the booklet, Spring Flock. I used art markers and colored pencil, to give it some color.

This design is from the booklet, For the Birds. I do miss designing and hopefully I can find more time to work on some new ideas, that I have been thinking about.

I also have been enjoying our little adventures and getting to use my new zoom. On Saturday I wanted to stay close to home and not worry about hunting for eagles, but on the way to the store, a hawk flew by, so we stopped and backed up to where he landed.

I hope this doesn't offend you, but to catch a shot of a hawk with prey, is not something I Have been able to do, so I was thrilled to catch him in action. Even with the zoom, I am still not sharp, it is hard to keep it still, but great quality for a hand held shot. This is a red tailed hawk.

On Sunday we headed into Connecticut. I always look for new places to visit and this time we stopped at a park along the river, and enjoyed a quick, brisk walk along the boardwalk. I can't wait to go back in the spring, when the shore birds come back to nest. There was.a flock of Cedar Waxwings in the parking lot area, but they wouldn't stay still for.a clear shot. We also visited a new cemetery, with stone designs that I have not seen before, so more design ideas.

And since I didn't expect to see any eagles, what did we find? Eagles! While at the cemetery I started scanning the far banks and spotted an eagle, and when we stopped at Eagle landing, I scanned again and at the far side, across the river, I spotted one in a nest. Too far for good shots, but it was still a thrill to see them.

And this week, it seems the hawks are hunting more in my yard. I keep spotting them, but they tend to take off when I spot them. This guy was being harassed by the crows, so he sat still long enough for a shot. He or she, is a red shouldered hawk.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Friday Finishes!

I hope everyone faired well during the recent storms. We got hit with a lot of rain and wind, but so far our power has stayed on.

This week I made a couple of items. I got a book from a thrift store and wanted to make the flag pattern. The book is Handmade in the USA by Kindred Spirits. My original idea was to mount the piece on wood, but I didn't have any good wood so I decided to try it on a canvas frame. I used various vintage papers for the background, but thought it needed to be toned down, and basically, I ended up painting over it and then I did some stenciled stars.

First I antiqued the canvas, then I antiqued the flag and once it was dry, I attached it with a decoupage medium. It worked great, the flag lay flat and it is hardened into the background. The problem was, I had used a little of the black stain for antiquing and the medium made that run throughout the piece. The flag came out too dark and the background lighter, so not the look I was going for. I think another problem was, I rushed to get it all together and should have given the piece, a day to dry thoroughly.

I had to lighten it up, so you could see how the flag looks, so the stars are lighter than the actual piece, as well.

Another piece is a lavender sachet, using Kathy Schmitz's newest pattern, from the stitch club. I have a lot of items in boxes, so I can always use more sachets, though this one is so pretty, it is a shame to hide it.

Last weekend we got out for rides, but no eagles. Of course I found some new, old graveyards and a wonderful old church that will be perfect for an art piece or maybe a new punch needle pattern. I do not show photos of items I will be using in art, but I took a few of the unique graveyards.

And the only bird that I could capture this week was a turkey vulture. I thought it was the hawks at first, but this is what I got a shot of.  It was good practice with the new lens, I wasn't sure if I could get good shots of birds in the air and this guy was also far away, so I am pleased with the results. The good thing about getting a better quality lens is that you can get a better result when editing the photo.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and find your own adventures.

Friday Finish!

This week I worked on a table runner. I am trying to use things that have been lying around and finishing other projects and this was a perfect project to use blocks and have something for my side table.

The blocks were gifted to me by a friend but a bit large for the table size, so I cut them in half and then arranged them into a windmill pattern. I usually go with smaller blocks but I also wanted to get it done so I could use it, so they are still a bit larger than I like, but it looks nice on the table.

I machine stitched the blocks and hand stitched it afterwards. I got the penny idea, because the blocks had been sew and recut, so they centers were a bit stiff and bumpy. The pennies cover that area and I was able to stitch around the bumps, instead of going through them. I did the quilting with just the batting and added a wool felt backing, afterwards.

I tried photos of it, in different areas, but it seems the light in my house is horrid and with larger pieces, it is hard to place it so I can get better lighting. I put it in this area so I could shoot at a better angle, so it is a bit smooshed at the ends, to fit the area.

Last weekend the weather wasn't the greatest, but we got out and enjoyed some exploring. On Saturday we drove up state and visited a few ponds, but no eagles. We enjoyed seeing some new areas and getting out for a bit, after the rain.

On Sunday, we visited Connecticut and started in a new area and came down river. No eagles and the roads on the map were not back roads, but dead ends, so we lost a lot of time, turning around and starting over. We did find a few new graveyards and I got glimpses of the sunset, as we headed home.

It is funny how we look all over for eagles and as we are driving down the road, there is a red tail hawk, sitting on a telephone wire. He was not happy that we stopped in front of him and flew off into the bush, but I was able to find him in the bush and get a shot before he took off again.

Tomorrow we get a new tv, the beauty of having a protection plan, they are well worth it. Sunday will be our day to get out, and I found some new graveyards along the river, so we can look for eagles and see some unique stones. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finish!

This week I made a few smalls and worked on finishing my pillows, which I am still working on, and I started a table runner, something simple from scrap blocks and hand stitching.

A friend sent me a belated gift box with lots of goodies and some patterns. I decided to make the scissor case, since I need one. The design is by Rebekah Smith and I added a few of my own touches.

The second is a pillow I made from an old block, I had laying around. It was a freebie from the Facebook group, Little Red Hen's Wooly Mysteries. She offers a monthly freebie throughout the. year, so a fun group to join. Last year it was cat blocks to make a quilt, this year they are smalls.

We have had a few adventures, and enjoying the outdoors. Last weekend we went to the ocean and visited the lighthouse. It is under repair so I couldn't get good shots of it, but we enjoyed the views and watched the kite surfers.

Today we got out with Alex, he had the day off from school. We took him to the submarine museum where they have rooms for kids to play with the mock circuit boards and he loved going in the submarine with the interactive radio they gave him. Like all boys, he had to try out everything in the museum.

Another surprise I got this week was when I opened one of my husband's packages. When I saw what was in it, I knew it was for me, an early Valentines gift, a 400 zoom lens. It is definitely on the heavy side but I can brace it, to keep from moving when I take photos.

These were my first, backyard birds, love how it blurs the background.

Today I captured some birds on the pond, but the Herons were further away and the sun made it hard to get a clearer shot.

And we spent time at the point, watching the ferries and letting Alex explore the grounds. It was a fun day, but always tiring, trying to keep up with him. A view of the haunted lighthouse, college students using the sailboats today and a view of New London, across the Thames River.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We are expecting rain tomorrow, so hopefully I can get out Sunday and practice with my new lens.

Friday Finish!

This week I finished one small project and about to finish a few more projects. I always like to have one small to do during the week and found a small simple one. A friend sent me a box of goodies last year and I had forgotten that it had kits in it, so I decided to make the little heart pin cushion.

After I made it, I decided to turn it into a lavender sachet, I really do need a lot of those. I am putting one in every box of supplies and also drawers, as well as books, the lavender keeps the musty smell away and it seems to keep the moths away, as well.

Nothing fancy, but fun and relaxing to make.

I also finished the second snowman pillow top. I was all ready to finish them, I added a border, then I noticed how crooked they were. So now I am trying to figure out if I need to redo the outer stitching, or cut more of the main piece, to follow the lines better. I am not sure if the lines are straight on any part, so I may just redo the bottom stitching and leave it as is, what do you think? I am waiting for my brain to work better, before I redo it.

We also got out last weekend, visited some new places, but no eagles. But, I did hit the jackpot with cemeteries, two old ones with a lot of unique stones, so I may just do a booklet and add some sayings and local folklore. I really got a good workout, between hiking and walking up and down hills, along with deep knee bends for better photos. It took a few days for my legs to recover, lol.

We also stopped at local waterfalls,  I love trying the Bulb feature to slow down the water's motion. I don't use a tripod, so I can only do a quick burst, but I was pleased with how this one came out. And if you notice the rocky outcropping, it reminds me of a dog with a stick in it's mouth.

And today I got a nice surprise, a belated Christmas box from my friend. She sent me some fun nautical decorations and made me this wonderful cross stitch piece. I always treasure the things my friends make me.

It looks like a storm is heading our way, so we may not get out as much, but I have been reorganizing and cleaning and today I made a lot of progress, so I can finally move my furniture around in my sewing room, to make it more functional. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and stay safe if you are in the storm's path.